Business of reading: Why this Andheri commerce graduate quit a bank job to sell books

Raju Yadav's bookstall is the only one of its kind, nestled on a busy street a few paces away from Gate No 1 of Takshila Colony in Andheri East. Sure, it is surrounded by large food, drink and hardware shops but while those boast of size, his stall looks towering thanks to the nearly 1,000 books stacked high inside. It is exactly the kind of cubicle he wants to be seated in for the rest of his life.

Earlier, the 26-year-old had taken up work in the collections department of a bank after completing his bachelors in commerce, but didn't find the gig as fulfilling as expected. "When I was in college, I used to read books often. After I finished college, I worked long hours at the bank job but what I really wanted to do was start my own business and what better way to do it than to convert my hobby of reading into a business?" Yadav learnt the ropes from his friends who were already running a bookshop near Sher-e-Punjab nearby, and started his stall, which he calls Mind Gym, in no time. "I realised that I would not only get to read books but also earn money from it and in the future, if the business went well, I could open a shop too," adds Yadav.

Five years and one Covid-19 pandemic later, he has managed to run a retail bookstall as well as a library service that is helping him build a reader base.

Building a library
Daring to open a bookstall at the peak of the digital boom in 2017, the Andheri resident said there was never a fear of it not working because the bookstalls run by his friends have been around for over a decade and he had seen they were working well. He explains, "Their business is quite old and existed before the online boom, so we had a lot of contacts from all these years and now have at least 1,000 members with the library." Yadav doesn't deny that the number of customers has reduced over the years. However, he observes that even though the Kindle is popular, having to scroll to read and the effect that has on the eyes has made a lot of people switch back to reading books in print. "That's when people started coming back and became members and our sales increased. Those who are regular members and like the feel of the physical book still buy from us regularly," he adds.

Raju Yadav (in picture) quit his bank job so that he could sell books because he loved reading. Photo Courtesy: Raj Patil/Mid-day file pic

While Yadav loves his books, his knack for business is evident when he reasons that his customers can read an unlimited number of books every month at Rs 500 from his bookstall, a liberty that Kindle users can't afford. It is no wonder that he has been able to cultivate a reader base with his library members ever since he set shop. "Every time a reader comes to us they can take two books. The exchange is unlimited and we have a deposit of Rs 1,000, which readers can get upon cancellation," he explains. His stall has a wide variety of novels that include fiction, non-fiction, love stories, children's books like Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter and books by Roald Dahl; he doesn't stock study books.

New-age readers and the pandemic
Ever since he started, Yadav has seen shifts in the popularity of genres, like many other bookstall owners to whom we have spoken so far for the ‘Shelf Life' series. "Earlier, readers used to read a lot of fiction. Nowadays, the new generation is reading motivational books and investment books, which they come to buy only after reading the reviews online," he explains. Some of the most popular books that are in demand at his stall include titles such as ‘Ikigai' by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia, ‘Atomic Habits' by James Clear and ‘Do Epic Shit' by Ankur Warikoo. There are an equal number of people who ask for Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's ‘The Palace of Illusions' and ‘The Forest of Enchantment'.

Raju Yadav has accommodated his friend who sell fruits at the same stall. Customers now not only ask for books but also fruits. Photo Credit: Raj Patil/Mid-day file pic

This kind of demand - not only from those who want to buy books but also those who want to borrow - is what kept Yadav busy during the pandemic. When it was difficult initially as they had to pay the rent even while not using the space during the lockdown, another business helped him sustain. However, Yadav hasn't looked back after things opened up. "We kept our shop open every day and used to use a service to deliver books to all readers." In fact, he has now also accommodated another friend of his who wanted to sell fruits at his stall to earn a living. "Now, whenever a reader comes to the stall, he can also buy fruits here. So, when we have to deliver books, they also tell us to send fruits with the delivery," he adds.

Yadav makes sure the stall is open every day, even on holidays. "If it is a holiday, that means the reader will also have a holiday and is likely to come to the stall, so I keep it open every day," shares the Mumbaikar, who starts at 11 am in the morning and takes about two hours to set up before he finally shuts shop at 10:30 pm. While the mornings are relatively slower, most of his crowd comes in the evening or on weekends, when they have a holiday. While he sells books, the Andheri local who started out wanting to educate people believes in the power of his library. "The library will always work - now and in the future," he says, encouragingly.